My blind optimism to blame

[reddosmod]

APRIL 2022 EVENT

IMAGE DESCRIPTORS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE
Prompt One
[Image One: A large green butterfly.]
[Image Two: A woman staring in a daze at light orbs floating around her face.]

Prompt Two
[Image One: A volcano with meteors falling down around it.]
[Image Two: A ball of quivering light hovering in the dark with woman standing in front.]

Prompt Three
[Image One: A woman staring at a mirror-like humanoid being staring back at her.]
[Image Two: A woman in a field of grass with humanoid-shaped flower sculptures nearby.]

[NAVIGATION]

Prompt 1 • Prompt 2 • Prompt 3 • Plotting • Newsletter

[JUMP TO COMMENTS]

MIGRATION OF MOONLIT BUTTERFLIES

WHEN: April
WHERE: Everywhere outside
CONTENT WARNINGS: Hopelessness/corruption, heavy themes of mental trauma/health, killing of gentle creatures.

---

Excerpt from BEASTS OF DEER COUNTRY Chapter 12: Migrations:

"One of the most beautiful natural phenomena of Deer Country is the migration of the mysterious Moonlit Butterflies. These giant creatures are most often the size of a house, with exceptional wingspans. Fear not: they are not violent creatures. Most will fly well above the city of Trench, leaving trails of glittering orbs of light that fall all throughout the city. However, it is common for some Moonlit Butterflies to land and rest throughout Trench. Despite their massive size, these creatures appear to weigh very little, able to rest harmlessly on homes, lampposts, and the like. Don't be surprised to find some scattered throughout your neighborhood.

They have a gentle aura about them and are most famous for their behemoth wings which glow a radiant green. They are aptly named due to their ability to store immense power from the moon during April and are seen as distant children of Argonaut. Being near them will enchant the air with the scent of amber and fresh linen, and you may hear a soothing song emit from these beasts.

Despite their rare and incredible beauty, it is wise to not linger in their presence no matter how captivating they are...And they are captivating. Many residents of Trench have been known to stop and stare, enthralled by the wings or the orbs of light that are shed by the butterflies. Those who have been staring for too long will have an unnatural glowing green glaze over their eyes, obscuring their pupil and gaze. This is known as the Moonlit Drain.

These butterflies do not gather all of their energy from moonlight...but they gather it from hopeful beings as well. It is why they gather among populations of sentient beings. They soak up all hope in the area and the longer you stand in their presence, the more hopeless you may become. Standing in the presence of a Moonlit Butterfly has driven people to rapid, severe corruption in under ten minutes. It is best to avoid these butterflies no matter how mesmerizing they may be to look at.

The little orbs of light are actual manifestation of everyone's hope. Touching them may restore hope and they can be gathered into jars for future treatments of corruption. They do not "go bad" as they are the essence of emotion. One way to restore hope to a corrupt or beast-ridden soul is to slay one of the Moonlit Butterflies. They are incredibly easy to kill as they are naturally delicate and non-hostile.

Be warned: the one who slays a Moonlit Butterfly will be consumed with instantaneous corruption and possibly even beasthood. But once the butterfly has been slain, anyone in the surrounding area besides the killer will have corruption alleviated. Killing a Moonlit Butterfly has been known to fill people with incredible grief and guilt. Few have survived."

WONDERKIND

WHEN: April
WHERE: Everywhere outside
CONTENT WARNINGS: Possible spoilers per canon, time/vortex style presence, variety of possible monsters.

---

Excerpt from an essay titled "The Wonderkind Pthumerian" from the book The Curious Nature of the Weakest Pthumerian: Argonaut and Misconceptions:

"Most of the other Patron Pthumerians are known for exceptional strength and durability during trying times. It is only Argonaut in which people think of weakness. They believe the Patron to be a fickle, tiny thing with little worth, but there is a unique and powerful quality to Argonaut that should not be overlooked.

This is the phenomenon known as Wonderkind. It has only been known to happen once every few years and only ever during April, but those who have seen it would testify to the hidden strengths of our explorer Patron. There is much to be said about curiosity and resilience, after all. Argonaut has wandered through the lives of many without most ever realizing it. He has likely seen into your own life, curious about the odd Sleepers that show up on the shores of this world.

Wonderkind appears as a meteor shower, but these are no meteors. Balls of flaming light will fall from the sky, silent, beautiful, striking, and somewhat ominous and terrifying. They rain upon Trench in intervals throughout April. They do not crash into the city so much as glide throughout. These balls of light are shimmering orbs that have split open time and space itself into unraveling cocoons, exposing portals into worlds foreign to this one.

These portals cannot be entered for they are not portals out of this world...But portals into this world. Sleepers have claimed to find beloved items and pull them out of these portals. Some may find old pets that come out to greet them. It can be a lucky and cherished event for many. Tragically, these portals do not seem to be able to bring in sentient beings applicable characters, but you may be able to talk briefly to a loved one who isn't yet in this world.

But that's not all that can crawl through these portals...Monsters from other worlds have been known to flock to these portals and make their way through. Monsters from your worlds or other worlds slip in to wreak havoc on the streets of Trench. It is during this time that it is of the utmost importance that our Hunters take up arms and protect the vulnerable. If you recognize the monsters or disasters from your world entering ours, then please, make sure to caution those against it.

The portals close after a few hours and cannot be manually closed by anyone. Nothing can be sent into portals, but one can stand by a portal and guard it for potential dangers. Portals from your world may reappear several times throughout the month, so don't let your guard down for even a moment, and always expect the worst even when hoping for the best."

Quick Facts:

1. Respect the setting. Do not bring in monsters that would be capable of destroying the world/city/etc.

2. Things like unique plants/items can be gained through these portals.

3. You do not need to engage with portals from your own canon. You can invent new worlds, engage with other canons, or alternate universes. It's up to you.

FROM WITHIN AND WITHOUT

WHEN: April
WHERE: Everywhere
CONTENT WARNINGS: Instant beasthood, corruption of soul, draining of soul, replication of soul, mistreatment of sex workers/night walkers.

---

An excerpt from a journal kept by a Night Walker named Charlotte Finch. Finch was known for being one of the first established Night Walkers and was known for her advocacy on the front of Night Walker work and its relationship to beasthood. This journal is kept in the Archives. It contains content pertinent to Beasthood yet, unfortunately, due to ongoing biases against Night Walkers, this journal is kept in the autobiography section rather than the section for beasthood. Good luck finding it.

"the job of the Night Walker is, of course, undervalued by this world. we do our best to soothe the troubled souls of this place and yet they continue to doubt our worth. what must we do to convince them? must we wield blades to show them how we fight? must we shed blood to prove our dedication? must we pick up books to show our intelligence? nei, we not do that. we sleep beside our worn hunters and rest heads upon the chests of scholars and hold the tired hands of architects. we guide the way to light in a way disciples could never.

all us are valuable, it be true, but why must the night walker be left to the wayside? why must our duties be written off? why must it be that it always a night walkers blood in the streets that leaves no tears to be shed? nei, nei, it is hatred of those who understand the soul and body have a close connection.

you know what i believe? these souls of ours change the landscape of our bodies. you cannot have one without the other. when the soul is corrupt, it only be natural that the body corrupts, turning rigid and hideous and monsterous and beastly. aye yes i have seen it myself, though none of the others believe except for other night walkers.

you see, there is a shape that comes to us in the Long Night of april, a shape much like our own. looking like a person ought to look but with no face and no features, like a mirror glimmering in the shape of you. they look like us, and they will mimic us. these odd mirror beings is the shape of our soul, you see, and once it finds you, it will copy you, and you will be driven mad! mad! how does this thing move as you move? how does it replicate what you replicate?

aye, it is your soul, my friend. your soul in a shape you can see. or something like it, may not soul be in your lexicon. it is you, as you are it. it is the Tether between you and beasthood, see what i say. the Tether will begin to soak into you if you let it, if you let it consume you, and it will consume you rapidly. people have been known to be ravaged by the Tether and turn into beasts within seconds, AYE yes, seconds, not minutes, into a vicious beast. the Tether wins.

But you need not let it be a victor, my friend. you see, we proved it, we did, us night walkers, we proved to lay with the Tether is to soothe the Tether. Allow yourself the kindness of another soul, another companion. touch and feel and express companionship. holding the hand of your lover or your friend or your brother or sister will cause the Tethers to weaken before ye very eyes! i do swear it, my friend, i should not lie on a subject i hold so dear.

you see, when we hold one another dear, when we cherish one anothr truly and wholly, we abate the darkness in our souls. listen to your companions, my sweet friends, and let your souls heal, and you can stop the Tether from consuming. you see, you see. surely you see. this is what it looks like. the Tether is always with us, but only in April under this moon can we see it always and will it be vicious and invasive. do not allow it.

do not allow it."

Quick Facts:

1. Tethers will take the exact body shape/size of you and mimic your moves. They may follow you around for several hours/days. Once they decide to "consume" you, it will be quick. It will essentially look like your body is turning metallic and then you become a beast.

While Charlotte states it happens in a matter of seconds, this can happen in several hours/days as well. Depends on the character and their general resolve.

2. People can be pulled back from this through emotional support whether verbally or physically and general acts of kindness. It's the sincerity that matters here. You do not need to be familiar with the person to help them.

3. Everyone can see each other's Tethers so you can determine how severe someone's Tether has become. The more severe the Tether, the more silvery the impacted person will look.

4. Tethers cannot be destroyed with weaponry/attacks. Trying will only hurt the person they are mimicking. You could actually kill someone by trying to "kill" their Tether. The tether will vanish with those who died but reappear once they have reincarnated.

CODING

Comments

[hearthebell]

Really? What became of that situation with the dragon? I hope your friend Allen is alright.

[He nods at her question, eyes lighting up with recognition at the phrase.]

It seemed not dissimilar to what Palebloods can do here. Divining, prophecy and so forth.

[dohaeris]

Oh, Allen's all right, he healed his dragon in the Salt Lake.

[allen is currently not all right, but that has nothing to do with the dragon, who is still all right, and living in the caves.]

I don't know if you saw anything about the Dance of the Dragons in the Archives. It was a stupid war in my realm. Aegon the Elder lost, but his mad dragon Sunfyre ate the rightful queen Rhaenyra while he was dying. My ancestor Cregan Stark came down from Winterfell and defeated the rest of the Greens. He was Hand of the King for Rhaenyra's son Aegon and executed the traitors or sent them to the Wall. They called it the Hour of the Wolf.

[she doesn't actually want to take about the dance of the dragons. she thinks about bloodraven calling her 'pale raven,' and wonders how much he knows.]

I know I have paleblood, and I've been told I could learn to be a greenseer. I would like to learn what I can.

[now that she knows she could have had this power all along, it feels like something else the lannisters and littlefinger took from her. it feels important that she learn to wield it well, to prove that they didn't succeed.]

[hearthebell]

[He nods, taking that near enough at face value. What catches his attention about it is the implication, of course, that what comes through the portals has remained.]

Then the dragon is still here? And yes... I'd encountered an abridged history of the war and its chief players, though strangely the text didn't refer to it as the Dance of the Dragons. It was more generic and cold... just Aegon's War.

If you're interested in honing your Paleblood abilities, I'm sure you've been to the Pale Sanctuary at least a few times.

[dohaeris]

[sansa laughs a little, because that is an incredibly unhelpful title.]

'Aegon's War' doesn't tell anybody anything. There were two Aegons in the Dance, on either side, and then three other King Aegons, not to mention all the princes. Besides, Aegon the Elder lost. His mother must've written it.

[sansa doesn't know very much about the dance of the dragons, but she's pretty sure alicent hightower is the only one who would think of that name. she frowns, slightly.]

I've only ever been to Mutter's School. I thought the Pale Sanctuary was a kind of godswood.

[even as she says it she pictures bran on the weirwoods and feels a little sheepish. but the sanctuary tree has always looked like the bloated corpse of a weirwood to her, and she's never thought to brave it.]

Is there much to be learned there? I was told that Disciples were different from Scholars, and didn't seek to understand.

[she pauses.]

The Grey Ghost is still here. He's known to be very shy. I think I'm the only person he doesn't mind, besides Allen.

[hearthebell]

That clarifies a lot; I had wondered, given the prolific nature of the man.

[How nice, to have someone who actually lived there to fill in the gaps.

His brows raise in surprise when she says she's never been to the Pale Sanctuary.]

There's everything to be learned there. It's the most resonant place to dream in Trench. You don't have to be a Disciple to fall asleep there, for walking or prophecy.

[He doesn't ask to see the dragon. While he's curious, he also recognizes that it could be both dangerous and intimate.]

[dohaeris]

[sansa nods. she is a little hesitant to fall asleep in front of strangers, but if she brought lady, she would probably be safe.]

My brother Bran was studying to be a greenseer in a cave with weirwood trees. It sounds very similar.

[only, there is one thing.]

Sometimes when I work with pale bloodstone for too long, I start to feel like I am all the ravens outside, and Lady, and Visenya, and myself all at once, and I have to stop because I don't know which hands I'm meant to be using. Before I had my omen I kept going in and out of Lady all the time, even when I was awake. Lord Sasuke has taught me to control my chakra, and use it, but I have some concern I might lose that control in a place of such power. Have you had any trouble like that, there?

[hearthebell]

[He hesitates, before nodding.]

After the battle on the beach, I went to sleep there, after hiding my body and swallowing some herbs to make sure it would stay that way. I thought that if I could relive what happened enough times, I could understand a way that fewer lives could be lost, and I could stop asking that question.

[The corner of his mouth twitches, unbidden.]

You could say that it brought me trouble. If you try to force things, your dream can start to hurt you, and if you can't wake up... the only option is to keep moving through other people's dreams, and they may or may not be hospitable.

[dohaeris]

[sansa startles. it's possible she has been there, but she wasn't exactly her at the time.]

Was that when you found Lady by the docks? You were lost in dreams, and we tracked you down...

[that was before she learned any chakra control, so it's all tangled up in wolf-thought and feeling. a smell of great magic, and blood...]

[hearthebell]

Yes... yes, it was. I remember.

[It's a challenge to remember. He was everywhere during that week, growing increasingly paler and thinner as he just couldn't manage to make it back to that ruined home dream to wake up.]

I knew there was something different about Lady, even then, and you... though for obvious reasons, the connection wasn't there to be made immediately.

[dohaeris]

[sansa laughs and nods.]

Then I have been there, I suppose. There were a lot of smells to work through, and powerful magic. We scarcely even saw the tree.

[when everything is grey, and your face is so very close to the ground...sansa smiles.]

I'm very glad you found us, and we found you.

[hearthebell]

If we both remember it and can corroborate the experience, it's safe to say that the resonance of the Paleblood Sanctuary has reached you, if indirectly, and... yes, I can say the same. I'm sure that it's a good thing we met.

[He says so like someone who does not often feel this way about others. There's a guardedness to it, as though he's already measuring and weighing the ways this puts Sansa in danger.]

[dohaeris]

[sansa is still not entirely used to the kindness of the people here. she half expects even her closest friends to turn on her, at least when she's left alone with her thoughts. but she counts each ally as a bulwark against her enemies, and she is grateful for even a temporary alliance. and if it is temporary, better she not be the one to end it. she laughs a little, lowly.]

If we hadn't met, I might never know if the portal visions were true or not. I might be wondering if my little brothers and sister were alive until they came here, if they ever did. What you've done, I don't think I could ever repay, but I'd be glad to make you clothes and cake and tell you about all the different Aegon Targaryens anyway, whenever you like.

[hearthebell]

[L's enemies stack up faster than his friends, but he's not entirely useless as an ally, and can certainly use more of his own as the future looms ever darker and more uncertain.

No nobility in hollow sacrifices, no friends, no home, and Sansa is gently offering a modest salve for all of it.]

It wasn't any trouble, and besides... I wonder if you know the value of all those things.

[No one else has offered, and L could never compromise his pride enough to ask.]

[dohaeris]

[sansa smiles sadly. she recalls how it felt, when the tyrells ordered lemoncakes for her at their tea, a dance with garlan and lessons on the high harp, margaery taking the time to walk with her in the gardens even after her horrible wedding once or twice.]

I know the cost of their absence. I wouldn't wish it on--well, not on you, anyway.

[it is exactly what she would wish on her enemies, to feel the way that she felt. but real revenge is a luxury she can ill afford, and she would settle for getting them safely out of her way.]

I'm sorry if you've been alone here. It's a horrible feeling.

[hearthebell]

[But on others? He catches the implication, brows raising... but then she says that, about the horrible feeling that's bound up his chest for such a long time now, like she knows (and she would know, he's sure based on what he's read and been told).]

Not quite alone, but--

[She knows why it's different, and the same.

On an impulse, he turns to look over his shoulder at his tether. It's gone.]

[dohaeris]

[sansa follows his gaze, rising up on the balls of her feet to peek over his head, and smiles. she withdraws her arms from around him and scoops up visenya the batcat instead.]

Cake, I think, and I can tell you a little of Aegon the Unworthy. He was Bloodraven's father. I can tell you a little more of Bloodraven, too.

[though how he came to be teaching bran magic in a cave, she doesn't know. she turns towards the kitchen.]

I made lemon with blueberries, yesterday. I should have enough left for the both of us.

[hearthebell]

[He exhales, and it's only then that he realizes how tense he was, how little he actually had to fear.]

I think you have a gift for deescalation. You should be working in hostage retrieval, or diplomacy. And... perhaps moonlighting as a baker.

[Of course he wants some cake.]

[dohaeris]

[actually at 'hostage retrieval' sansa laughs loudly, causing visenya to to startle. sansa pets her until she calms.]

I was a hostage. I thought you would've found that out by now. The Lannisters held me captive after they murdered my father, and my brother and mother raised our banners to kill them and come get me. Arya managed to escape, but I didn't. They got traitors to murder my mother and brother, and I stayed there in the Red Keep with them until that king was killed and someone else took me away with him in all the fuss. The Queen Regent blamed me and put a bounty on my head, so I had to hide as Alayne Stone. Half the Seven Kingdoms wants to kill me for the coin, and the other half needs me to drive the traitors out of our lands and restore my uncles to Riverrun, but I can't do it until the Lannisters kill each other off and my friend the Lady Margaery Tyrell takes the throne as King Tommen's queen.

So you're right, I should be working in diplomacy. I'm the rightful Lady Protector of Winterfell and Warden of the North. But I'm afraid I couldn't bake anything with the ovens we had there.

[the kitchen staff certainly wouldn't let her try. she remembers something dimly through the fog of tequila and sugar. she smiles ruefully.]

That's why I laughed, at the party, when you said I didn't get out much. I've been a prisoner of one sort or another since I was thirteen.

[hearthebell]

I knew; it's one of the reasons I said so. Experience is the best teacher, however cruel it might have been.

[And she has revealed a few things just now that he actually didn't know, about that particular situation.]

Do you find that you enjoy freedom? Or do you think it's... frightening, I suppose. In a way, to have so many options?

[He seems unusually interested in her answer.]

[dohaeris]

[sansa snorts derisively.]

I don't have that many options, I'm only good at sewing and telling lies. But I have Lady, and people have been kind to me, and the Wakers made me very welcome. I stayed at the inn until I knew enough to get by in the city, and I made friends, better friends than I had in the Seven Kingdoms–than I was allowed to have, since I left Winterfell.

It's wonderful, even when it's difficult. I–I don't want to go back.

[even with her siblings alive, it's still a monumental task to win back the north. and she doesn't know if she'll ever be as happy as she is here, making things, learning magic, having friends.]

[hearthebell]

[He smiles, palely and wryly, knowing something himself about being a liar with a highly specialized skillset that inherently limits his options.

He's also used to associating difficulty with delight, but interpersonal challenges are a different kind of press with a different kind of pain on failure. Sometimes, he desperately wants to return to the isolated and numb existence he had before; sometimes he thinks that these growing pains could culminate in joy and fulfillment after the pins-and-needles faded away.]

I don't think I do, either. If this is our life, now, we could do worse.

[Especially if we're dead, he doesn't say. What would that be like? Going back and simply ceasing to exist, because all humans go to nothingness when they die, or, worse, maintaining a consciousness as a ghost or rotting corpse?]